Rental market activity reaches all time high

When the house prices and demand for buying started increasing across the UK this year, many landlord insurance customers may have been concerned that their venture was about to be affected by the fact that the number of potential tenants would be dropping along with their prices.

However, the rental sector has actually now been reported as performing better than ever thanks to a sustained demand that has belied the fact that more mortgages are now being approved for people to buy rather than rent.

According to findings released by the Sequence National Rental Report, it is now the case that rental activity is performing at levels previously unseen with occupancy rates, demand and the actual price of renting all rising in July.

The report said that demand is at an 11 year high in the UK at the moment, a reality which has allowed landlords to increase what they are charging their tenants, rising their rental income per property to an average of £751 per month.

And the number of tenancies being taken on by people getting themselves properties is on the rise, showing that landlords across the country have been doing the right thing in getting themselves new homes and expanding their portfolios in the last few months.

In July, the number of new tenancies was six per cent higher than it was in June, and on an annual basis they rose by a rather impressive 18 per cent.

Stephen Nation, head of lettings at Sequence, said: "Levels of activity and growth across the rental market are unprecedented and showing no signs of slowing down.

"New rental contracts agreed have increased to record breaking levels this month which highlights just how much the market is expanding."

It was also pointed out that buy-to-let lending in the UK is on the rise, with the report stating that it had risen by 27 per cent in the last year. With the interest rates set to stay low for another couple of years at least, this could signal that the strength will remain in the private rented sector for a while to come.